| |
FirstGen Founders Powering American Dynamism
|
| With Ann Xu (Founder/CEO, ElectroTempo), Andrew Stroup (CEO, Leverage AI), David Pietrocola (Founder/CEO, Cohesive Robotics), Sage Secilmis (President, WebSensing). |
| Venue, To Be Announced |
|
May 28 (Wed) , 2025 @ 06:00 PM
| |
FREE |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| DETAILS |
|
Join FirstGen for FirstGen Founders Powering American Dynamism, a gathering that spotlights the immigrant & first-generation entrepreneurs building the next wave of critical American industries. From defense tech & manufacturing to public infrastructure, logistics, & energy-these founders are driving the innovation that keeps America competitive & resilient.
This event brings together founders, investors, & operators who are not only redefining sectors historically dominated by legacy players but also proving that diverse, globally-minded leadership is essential to American progress & global leadership.
Who Should Attend
Immigrant & first-generation founders building in "American Dynamism" sectors
Investors focused on defense, logistics, public sector tech, climate, & infrastructure
Operators, policymakers, & ecosystem builders supporting this next frontier of innovation
Panelists:
Andrew Stroup - CEO & Cofounder | Leverage AI
Andrew Stroup is a Korean American adoptee & the founder of Leverage, an AI-powered supply chain purchase order automation & visibility platform. He is a serial technology entrepreneur, investor, & advisor with domain expertise in aerospace, software, supply chain, cybersecurity, robotics, & government. Leverage has raised $10m to date & select enterprise customers include Systems Control, Halo (Amphenol), & ITW.
Previously, Andrew was the Director of Product & Technology for the White House Presidential Innovation Fellows, CEO of an identity & access management security software startup. He also served as a DoD civilian focused on the Biosurveillance White House Initiative, partnering with countries such as South Korea. His support to the Armed Forces also included oversight of medical countermeasures & Chemical, Biological, Radiological, & Nuclear materiel development as well as Joint Strike Fighter (F-35) integration efforts. Andrew earned dual degrees in Aerospace Engineering & Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Mathematics & Business Management from Oklahoma State University.
Sage Seckin Secilmis - President | WebSensing
Sage Seckin Secilmis is the President of WebSensing, a single-chip network security solutions providing government agencies & approved partners to enable all-domain command & control through secure data transfers.
Prior to WebSensing, Seckin's leadership experience has spanned industries & roles, including leading the successful exit of space tech startup Tethers Unlimited as the COO & GM; leading a large, 150-person, cross-disciplinary engineering team producing AED devices; & leading the development of Boeing's B737 BSI Mood-Lighting System which flies on every aircraft in production today & has over a dozen patents. Seckin has an MBA from C.W. Post, Long Island University, & a B.S. in Computer Engineering Technology from Rochester Institute of Technology.
Ann Xu - CEO & Co-founder | ElectroTempo
Dr. Ann Xu is co-founder & CEO of ElectroTempo. ElectroTempo is a Software-as-a-Service company focused on energy infrastructure planning & intelligence for electric utilities, charging site hosts, & fleets. ElectroTempo has raised $5m to date & select enterprise customers include Prologis & Austin Energy.
Dr. Xu spun out ElectroTempo from Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), where she led the research & development of large-scale regional electric vehicle charging demand simulators. Prior to TTI, Dr. Xu was Senior Technical Advisor for Impact & Assessment at the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). Dr. Xu received her Ph.D. in Transportation Systems Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology & her dual B.S. degrees in Environmental Science & Statistics from Peking University in China.
David Pietrocola - CEO & Co-founder | Cohesive Robotics
David Pietrocola is Co-Founder & CEO at Cohesive Robotics, a leading developer of AI-powered turnkey, & pre-engineered robotic workcells for high-mix, high-part variability environments. He has led numerous teams & developed cutting-edge products in industry & national security. His work helps run automation & AI systems in manufacturing & logistics at world-class organizations such as Daimler, Tesla, Walgreens & the CIA. He's a lead inventor on multiple patents, graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Trinity College, & earned a M.S. in Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
About the Hosts & Sponsors:
FirstGen is an organization dedicated to expanding access to scalable entrepreneurship & venture capital for immigrant & first-generation (children of immigrants) entrepreneurs. Our goal is to help founders raise their first $1M in funding and/or reach their first $1M in revenue. We do so by supporting founders through capability-building, capital & customer support & community.
Special thanks to our sponsors,
EisnerAmper - EisnerAmper, one of the largest business consulting firms in the world, is comprised of EisnerAmper LLP, a licensed independent CPA firm that provides client attest services; & Eisner Advisory Group, an alternative practice structure that provides business advisory & non-attest services in accordance with all applicable laws, regulations, standards & codes of conduct. Clients are in all business sectors & leverage a complete menu of service offerings. Our Technology Practice professionals are a dedicated & agile team who serve the specialized needs of more than 2,100 public & private technology companies, as well as investors. Our combined entities include nearly 4,500 employees & 440 partners. For more information, please visit eisneramper.com, & explore our thought leadership resource library at www.eisneramper.com/knowledge-center.
HSBC Innovation Banking is a dedicated banking practice focused on the innovation economy. It brings HSBC's expansive product suite & international capabilities to serve high-growth innovative businesses from startups to scale-ups & beyond. HSBC Innovation Banking supports entrepreneurs & investors in tech, life sciences, & other fast-moving industries with an unmatched global network, deep sector expertise, & tailored financial products designed specifically to fuel growth in the innovation ecosystem, including a range of debt & credit facilities to suit all sizes of businesses. Backed by the strength & stability of HSBC, it combines a startup-friendly approach with world-class, scalable, banking infrastructure.
Dentons - As a boutique practice within the world's largest law firm, Dentons' Global Venture Technology Group offers nimble, strategic counsel to leading emerging tech companies & venture investors. We bring together local market expertise, global reach & a Silicon Valley mindset-delivering the tailored support & insights needed to drive innovation & growth.
By signing up, you are agreeing to join our email distribution lists. Thank you
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
